Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja’s alleged fake degree case has dominated headlines over the past few weeks.
On Wednesday, June 29, a voter from Nairobi County petitioned the High Court seeking to prevent the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from including the Nairobi gubernatorial candidate on the ballot.
In the petition filed at the Milimani High Court in Nairobi, Dennis Wahome wanted IEBC not to include Sakaja’s name on the ballot paper until he proves that the undergraduate degree certificate allegedly acquired from Team University in Uganda, is not fake.
Even with cases hanging on his neck, the commission went ahead to list Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja in the Nairobi gubernatorial race.
However, on Tuesday, July 12, High Court Justice Anthony Mrima said the electoral agency did not commit any mistake in clearing Sakaja for the gubernatorial contest in the August 9, General Election.
Mrima said that the petitioner failed to discharge the burden of proving that the self-styled super senator’s Team University certificate is fake.
In addition, the judge said the Wafula Chebukati-led commission does not have powers or a mandate to verify the authenticity of documents submitted by aspirants.
Similar applications were also dismissed by returning officers and the same were upheld by the IEBC dispute resolution committee.
The upshot of the court’s judgment means Johnso Sakaja is inching closer to legally vying for the seat which many believed he will not due to questions over his academic qualifications.
In the court papers, the petitioner had argued that Sakaja’s degree from Team University in Uganda contradicted his own public declarations that he had never attended school outside the country.
“Sakaja’s assertion that he is a graduate of Team University is factually incorrect, baseless, and unsupported. The assertion is further contradicted by his own public declarations categorically stating that he has never attended any university outside Kenya,” stated Mboce in part.
Sakaja will be battling it out with other seven aspirants including former Nairobi deputy governor Polycarp Igathe of the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya coalition party.
